Chapter 5 Symmetric Flat-foldable Waterbomb Origami

Chapter 5 Symmetric Flat-foldable Waterbomb Origami

5.1 Introduction
The traditional waterbomb origami, produced from a pattern consisting of a series
of vertices where six creases meet, is one of the most widely utilized origami patterns.
Although the waterbomb pattern is of multiple degrees of freedom, the symmetric
folding is often preferred in most of research or art work, which is done by constraining
it with symmetric conditions and then controlling the motion to reach an ideal flat-
foldable state. However, the symmetric folding is hard to realize and the thickness of
the material cannot simply be ignored in most of the practical engineering applications.
Therefore, the thick-panel origami approach [29] is adopted. This chapter provides a
comprehensive kinematic analysis on foldability of the waterbomb tessellation that
made from the six-crease waterbomb bases of both a zero-thickness sheet and panels of
finite thickness. Kinematically the folding of zero-thickness sheet is modelled as
spherical 6R linkages whereas that of thick panels is treated as an assembly of the
Bricard linkages. The motion behaviour of the thick-panel waterbomb origami will be
analyzed based on the kinematics and bifurcation analysis of the plane-symmetric
Bricard linkage in Chapter 4.
The layout of this chapter is as follows. Section 5.2 setups the geometry and
kinematics of the waterbomb origami pattern. Section 5.3 presents a detailed analysis
on rigid foldability of the waterbomb tessellation for zero-thickness sheet. This is
followed by the design and kinematic behaviour of its corresponding thick-panel
origami in section 5.4. Comparisons and further discussion are made in section 5.5.

5.2 Geometry and Kinematic Setup

The six-crease waterbomb base comprises four diagonal valley creases (dashed
lines) and two co-linear mountain creases (solid lines), all of which meet at a single
vertex as shown in Fig. 5-1(a), where t is the half-width of the base, α and β are
the design angles of the base. Placing the base shown in blue side-by-side to form a row
and shifting the bases by half a base (red) on the adjacent rows, a generalized
waterbomb origami pattern is formed as shown in Fig. 5-1(b), where m and n are the
number of bases in the vertical and horizontal direction, respectively. There are three
representative vertices marked by circles, Ai, Bi and Ci, where i is the row number that
the waterbomb base locates.

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Fig. 5-1 (a) The six-crease waterbomb base, and (b) the waterbomb origami pattern formed by
tessellating the waterbomb bases

According to the kinematic equivalence between rigid origami and spherical

linkages, the motion around each vertex of the waterbomb origami pattern can be
modelled as a spherical 6R linkage where adjacent rigid links (sheets) are connected by
only revolute joints (creases) that meet at the vertex, then the pattern becomes a network
of such linkages, which can be analyzed with the matrix method in kinematics with the
D-H notation as shown in Fig. 2-. Therefore, the three vertices Ai, Bi and Ci in the
generalized waterbomb tube can be considered as three spherical 6R linkages, Ai, Bi
and Ci as shown in Fig. 5-2, where the dihedral angles between adjacent sheets
connected by the crease are defined as ϕi , j , φBi , j and φCi , j ( j = 1, 2, ..., 6 ),
respectively.

Fig. 5-2 Kinematic modelling of the generalized waterbomb tube: (a), (b) and (c), spherical
linkage Ai, Bi and Ci, respectively.

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 Chapter 5 Symmetric Flat-foldable Waterbomb Origami

Substituting the geometrical parameters of each vertex into the closure equation
Q21Q32Q43Q54Q65Q16 = I 3 , (5-1)
their kinematic relationships are obtained. Since each crease links two vertices, the
dihedral angle on that crease is related to the motion of spherical linkages on both
vertices, and the compatibility between neighbouring linkages Ai, Bi and Ci yields
φBi ,3 = ϕi ,6 , φCi ,1 = ϕi ,1 , φCi ,2 = φBi ,2 , ϕi +1,4 = φBi ,1 , ϕi +1,3 = φCi ,3 . (5-2)
These relationships hold for the entire waterbomb pattern. Once these compatibility
conditions are satisfied, the motion of the entire pattern would be rigid.

5.3 Symmetric Rigid Folding of Zero-thickness Waterbomb

In general, a spherical 6R linkage is of three DOFs, the whole waterbomb pattern
is therefore of multiple DOFs, but this number is reduced if only the symmetric folding
is allowed. That is, each six-crease waterbomb base has identical motion behaviour.
Therefore, linkage Ci in Fig. 5-2 is an inverted configuration of linkage Bi. In such a
way, only two types of vertices, A and B, exist. Denote
ϕi , j =ϕ j , φBi , j =φCi , j =φ j , j = 1, 2, ..., 6 . (5-3)

Vertex A can be regarded as a spherical 6R linkage with the geometric parameters

α12 = α 34 = α 45 = α 61 = α , α 23 = α 56 = π − 2α , where 0 < α ≤ π / 2 . Imposing the
line and plane symmetry conditions, i.e., δ 1 = δ 4 and δ 2 = δ 3 = δ 5 = δ 6 , to the
closure condition of the linkage, Eq. (5-1), we can then write the closure equations as
δ1 δ2
tan = − cos α tan , δ1 = δ 4 , δ 2 = δ 3 = δ 5 = δ 6 , (5-4)
2 2
where δ i is the kinematic variable of crease i in the vertex A according to the D-H
notation as shown in Fig. 5-3(a).

Fig. 5-3 Set-up of coordinates and kinematic parameters for (a) zero-thickness, and (b) thick-
panel origami according to the D-H notation

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Similarly applying the symmetry condition to vertex B, it becomes a plane-

symmetric spherical 6R linkage with the geometric parameters α12 = α 61 = π − α − β ,
α 23 = α 56 = β , α 34 = α 45 = α , where 0 < β ≤ π / 2 , and
ω5 = ω3 , ω6 = ω2 , (5-5a)

where ωi is the kinematic variable of crease i in the vertex B according to the D-H
notation as shown in Fig. 5-3(a). To ensure the compatibility of the entire pattern, the
kinematic relationship between ω1 and ω3 of vertex B must be identical to that
between δ1 and δ 2 of vertex A. Replacing δ1 and δ 2 in Eq. (5-4) with ω1 and
ω3 , respectively, yields
ω1 ω3
tan = − cos α tan . (5-5b)
2 2
Now considering the closure condition of the linkage at vertex B, we obtain two sets of
equations. The first set is
ω2 cos α ω
tan =− tan 3 , (5-6a)
2 cos (α + β ) 2
ω4 = ω1 , (5-6b)
while the second one is
ω3
2sin α tan
ω2 2
tan =− , (5-7a)
2 2 ω3
sin (β − α ) tan + sin (α + β )
2
and
 ω3 4 ω3 
 tan 2 (−2 cos α sin ( β − α ) tan 2 + 4(sin α sin 2β + cos α sin (α 
2

 
 + β ) sin( β − α )) tan 2 ω3 + sin (α + β )(7 sin β − sin (2α + β ))) 
ω4  2 
tan = . (5-7b)
2  4 ω3 
 2sin( β − α )(2sin (α + β ) + sin( β − α )) tan
2 
 
 +4(cos 2 (α + β ) − cos 2β ) tan 2 ω3 − 2sin 2 (α + β ) 
 2 
Together with Eqs. (5-4) and (5-5), the entire sets of closure equations of waterbomb
pattern have been obtained.
The kinematic variables, or rotations about each crease, can be replaced by the
dihedral angles ϕi and φi between adjacent panels connected by the crease as shown
in Fig. 5-3(a). The relationship between the kinematic variables and dihedral angels are
δ1 = π − ϕ1 , δ 2 = π + ϕ 2 , δ 3 = π + ϕ3 , δ 4 = π − ϕ 4 , δ 5 = π + ϕ5 , δ 6 = π + ϕ 6 for

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vertex A and ω1 = π − φ1 , ω2 = π − φ2 , ω3 = π + φ3 , ω4 = π − φ4 , ω5 = π + φ5 ,
ω6 = π − φ6 for vertex B. Thus the two sets of kinematic relationships of the waterbomb
pattern presented by the dihedral angels become
φ1 1 φ
tan = tan 3 , (5-8a)
2 cos α 2
φ2 cos (α + β ) φ
tan = tan 3 , (5-8b)
2 cos α 2
φ4 = φ1 , φ5 = φ3 , φ6 = φ2 , (5-8c)
ϕ2 = φ3 , (5-8d)
ϕ1 1 ϕ
tan = tan 2 , ϕ1 = ϕ 4 , ϕ2 = ϕ3 = ϕ5 = ϕ6 ; (5-8e)
2 cos α 2
and
φ1 1 φ
tan = tan 3 , (5-9a)
2 cos α 2
φ3
sin (α + β ) tan 2 + sin (β − α )
φ2 2
tan = , (5-9b)
2 φ3
2sin α tan
2
 φ3 4 φ3 2 φ3 
 tan 2 (2sin (α + β ) tan 2 − 4(cos (α + β ) − cos 2β ) tan 2 
2 2

 
φ4  −2sin( β − α )(2sin (α + β ) + sin( β − α ))) 
tan =
2  φ  , (5-9c)
sin (α + β )(7 sin β − sin (2α + β )) tan 2 + 4(sin α sin 2β 
4 3

 
 + cos α sin (α + β ) sin( β − α )) tan 2 φ3 − 2 cos α sin 2 ( β − α ) 
 2 
φ5 = φ3 , φ6 = φ2 , (5-9d)
ϕ2 = φ3 , (5-9e)
ϕ1 1 ϕ
tan = tan 2 , ϕ1 = ϕ 4 , ϕ2 = ϕ3 = ϕ5 = ϕ6 . (5-9f)
2 cos α 2
Considering a pattern with α = 2π / 9 , β = 2π / 9 , and taking φ1 as an input,
the variations of other dihedral angles at vertex B with respect to φ1 are plotted in Fig.
5-4(a). There are two paths with the same starting point (π , π ) and ending point
(0, 0) : path I based on Eqs. (5-8a) – (5-8e) and path II on Eqs. (5-9a) – (5-9f). It
indicates that vertex B can be folded compactly along two different paths. Since Eq. (5-
8a) and Eq. (5-9a) are identical, the two paths coincide in the φ3 or φ5 vs. φ1 curve
in Fig. 5-4(a). Yet for vertex A, with ϕ1 = ϕ 4 = φ1 , there is only one path, see Fig. 5-

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4(b). Therefore, in general the patterns with a large number of vertices A and B will
fold in two different manners, from i, ii, iii, iv to v, or from i, viii, vii, vi to v, as
demonstrated in Fig. 5-4(c).
There are a few special cases of the waterbomb pattern which are mostly
interesting. First, when α + β = π / 2 , creases along z 2 and z 6 at vertex B shown in
Fig. 5-2(b) become collinear. As a result, they fold together like a single crease with
φ1 = π . When φ1 ≠ π , Eq. (5-8) becomes a strainght line with φ2 = 0 . Therefore, Path
I breaks down into two straight lines. A particular case with α = β = π / 4 is shown in
Fig. 5-5. At the first folding stage, φ2 (and φ6 ) starts from π and finishes at 0 from
i, xi, x and ix, while φ1 , φ3 , φ4 , and φ5 remain to be π , then φ2 (and φ6 ) is kept
at constant 0 and φ1 , φ3 , φ4 , and φ5 changes from π to 0 along ix, viii, vii, vi and
v. Both reach the compactly folded configuration. At the latter stage, vertex B behaves
like a spherical 4R linkage because φ2 and φ6 are frozen. The movement around
vertex B will drive vertex A to move accordingly.
Second, Eqs. (5-8) or (5-9) could give negative dihedral angles, which indicates
blockage occurring during folding, because physically the dihedral angles cannot be
less than zero. By analysing Eq. (5-8b), it can be found that for path I when
α + β > π / 2 , φ2 is always negative except at points (0, 0) and (π , π ) . So a
blockage is always there. And from Eq. (5-9c), it can be found that on path II when
α ≠ β , a blockage will occur when

 cos α sin (α + β ) sin( β  4(sin α sin 2β + cos α sin (α + β ) sin( β − α )) 2

−2  +
1  −α ) + sin α sin 2β  +2 cos α sin 2 ( β − α ) sin (α + β )(7 sin β − sin (2α + β ))
cos α sin (α + β )(7 sin β − sin (2α + β ))

(cos 2 (α + β ) − cos 2β ) 2 + (2sin (α + β )

cos 2 (α + β ) − cos 2β +
φ1 + sin( β − α )) sin( β − α ) sin 2 (α + β )
< tan <
2 cos α sin (α + β )
(5-10)

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Fig. 5-4 Kinematic behaviour of the waterbomb origami pattern with α = 2π / 9 , β = 2π / 9 .

Kinematic relationships of vertices (a) B, and (b) A; and (c) two folding paths with configurations
i-viii.

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Fig. 5-5 Two-stage motion of path I with α = π / 4 , β = π / 4 . (a) Folding paths with
configurations i-xi, and (b) kinematic relationships of vertex B.

For example, when α = 7π / 36 , β = π / 4 , the kinematic curve between φ4

and φ1 is shown in Fig. 5-6(a) and the folding sequences are demonstrated in Fig. 5-
6(b). Along path I, the pattern can be folded from a sheet at i to fully folded
configuration at vii, whereas along path II, the folding process terminates at iii. The
framed configurations are physically impossible due to blockage because these

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configurations correspond to cases where φ4 becomes negative. Even if the

penetrations were allowed, the folding along path II would end up in a fully folded
configuration at vi that differs from that at vii along path I.

Fig. 5-6 Blockage of waterbomb origami pattern with α = 7π / 36 , β = π / 4 . (a) Kinematic

curve between φ4 and φ1 of vertex B, and (b) folding manners in which the framed
configurations are with physical blockage.

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The physical blockage can also occur when α + β = π / 2 but α ≠ β . Figure 5-

7 shows a two-stage motion on path I and blockage on path II for a pattern with
α = π / 6 and β = π / 3 .

Fig. 5-7 Two-stage motion and blockage during the folding manners of waterbomb origami
pattern with α = π / 6 , β = π / 3 in which the framed configurations are with physical blockage.

Based on the above analysis, the behaviour of the waterbomb tessellation can be
summarized as follows.
(a) When α + β < π / 2 and α = β , there are two smooth folding paths with
neither two-stage motion nor blockage.
(b) When α + β < π / 2 and α ≠ β , path II is blocked and path I is smooth.
(c) When α + β = π / 2 and α = β , path I is in two-stage motion while path II
is smooth;
(d) When α + β = π / 2 and α ≠ β , both two-stage motion on path I and
blockage on path II happen.
(e) When α + β > π / 2 and α = β , only path II for vertex B is smooth, but

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vertex A is blocked. Thus the whole pattern is blocked from compact folding.
(f) When α + β > π / 2 but α ≠ β , both paths are blocked.
Among them, only cases (a) – (c) can have one or two smooth folding paths.

5.4 Folding Thick Panels with the Waterbomb Pattern

The waterbomb tessellation can also be used to fold panels with non-zero thickness.
This is done by mapping the same pattern in Fig. 5- onto a thick panel while placing
the fold lines either on top or bottom surfaces of the panel. Now at vertices A and B,
there will still be six fold lines in places of creases, but these fold lines no longer
converge to a vertex. In other words, dissimilar to zero-thickness sheet, the distances
between the adjacent fold lines are no longer zero. The set-up of coordinates and
kinematic parameters for thick-panel origami according to the D-H notation is
presented in Fig. 5-3(b). In terms of kinematic model, the spherical 6R linkage in
section 5.3 is now replaced by spatial 6R linkages. Among all possible spatial 6R
linkages, the plane-symmetric Bricard linkage, is the most suitable one [29]. Let us
select two Bricard linkages for A and B, respectively, Fig. 5-8(a) and Fig. 5-8(b), with
their link lengths being the panel thicknesses. As the linkages are overconstrained, the
geometric conditions of the linkage at vertex A are
a12A = a61A = a34A = a45A = (2 + μ )a′ , a23A = a56A = 0 , (5-11a)

α12A = 2π − α , α 61A = α , α 23A = π − 2α , α 56A = π + 2α , α 34A = α , α 45A = 2π − α ,

(5-11b)
RiA = 0 (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) , (5-11c)
and those at vertex B are
a12B = a61B = (1 + μ )a′ , a23B = a56B = a′ , a34B = a45B = μ a′ , (5-12a)

α12B = π − α − β , α 61B = π + α + β , α 23B = β , α 56B = 2π − β , α 34B = 2π − α , α 45B = α ,

(5-12b)
RiB = 0 (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) . (5-12c)
α and β are the same as the sector angles of the origami pattern in Fig. 5-2(a) and
Fig. 5-2(b), α ij and α ij are expressed using the D-H notation, while a′ is the
A B

thickness of link 23 and μ is the proportion between the thickness of link 34 and
link 23 in the vertex B of the thick-panel waterbomb pattern where a′ ≠ 0 and
μ ≠0.

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Fig. 5-8 Fold lines around the vertices (a) A, and (b) B in thick panels

Applying the geometric conditions of these linkages to Eq. (4-6a) in last section,
A ≠ 0 , subsequently closure equations of the plane-symmetric Bricard linkage are Eq.
(4-3), (4-15), (4-16) and (4-17). For vertex A, two set of closure equations can be
obtained, which are
δ′ 1 δ′
tan 1 = − tan 2 , δ 3′ = δ 2′ + π , δ 4′ = δ1′ , δ 5′ = δ 3′ , δ 6′ = δ 2′ , (5-13)
2 cos α 2
and
δ 2′
2 cos α tan
δ1′ 2
tan = , δ 3′ = π − δ 2′ , δ 4′ = −δ1′ , δ 5′ = δ 3′ , δ 6′ = δ 2′ , (5-14)
2 2 δ 2′
tan − cos 2α
2
respectively, where δ i′ is the kinematic variable of crease i in the vertex A of the
thick-panel origami according to the D-H notation as shown in Fig. 5-3(b). The
relationship between the kinematic variables δ i′ and dihedral angels ϕi′ at vertex A
are δ1′ = 2π − ϕ1′ , δ 2′ = ϕ 2′ , δ 3′ = π + ϕ3′ , δ 4′ = 2π − ϕ 4′ , δ 5′ = π + ϕ5′ and δ 6′ = ϕ6′ . By
conversion of the kinematic variables to the dihedral angels, the two sets of closure
equations can be respectively rewritten as

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ϕ1′ 1 ϕ′
tan = tan 2 , (5-15a)
2 cos α 2
ϕ4′ = ϕ1′ , ϕ2′ = ϕ3′ = ϕ5′ = ϕ6′ , (5-15b)
and
ϕ2′
2 cos α tan
ϕ1′ 2
tan = , (5-16a)
2 2 ϕ 2′
− tan + cos 2α
2
ϕ3′ = −ϕ2′ , ϕ4′ = −ϕ1′ , ϕ5′ = ϕ3′ , ϕ6′ = ϕ 2′ (5-16b)
Similarly, we also have two sets of closure equations at vertex B, which are
ω1′ 1 ω′
tan =− tan 3 , (5-17a)
2 cos α 2
ω2′ cos α ω′
tan = / tan 3 , (5-17b)
2 cos(α + β ) 2
ω4′ = ω1′ , ω5′ = ω3′ , ω6′ = ω2′ , (5-17c)
and
ω′ ω′
− tan 3 ( μ sin 2 (α + β ) tan 2 3 + ( μ + 1)( μ sin 2 β + sin 2 α ))
ω ′ 2 2
tan 1 = ,
2 sin(α + β )( μ 2 sin β + cos(α + β ) sin α ) tan 2 ω3′ + ( μ + 1) 2 sin α sin β cos β
2
(5-18a)
ω2′ ( μ + 1) sin α ω′
tan = / tan 3 , (5-18b)
2 μ sin(α + β ) 2
ω3′ ω3′
tan (4( μ + 1) sin α (( μ + 1) sin 2 β + sin 2 (α + β )) − 4 μ sin α sin 2 (α + β ) tan 2 )
ω4′ 2 2
tan =
2  2( μ + 1) 2 sin 2 α sin 2 β +(cos(3α + β ) − 2(1 + μ ) 2 cos(α + β ) 
 
 +(1 + 4μ + 2 μ 2 ) cos(α − β )) sin(α + β ) tan 2 ω3′ 
 2 
(5-18c)
ω5′ = ω3′ , ω6′ = ω2′ , (5-18d)

where ωi′ is the kinematic variable of crease i in the vertex B of the thick-panel
origami according to the D-H notation as shown in Fig. 5-3(b). The above two sets of
closure equations can be written in terms of dihedral angels. Noting that the relationship
between the kinematic variables ωi′ and dihedral angels φi′ at vertex B are
ω1′ = 2π − φ1′ , ω2′ = π − φ2′ , ω3′ = φ3′ , ω4′ = 2π − φ4′ , ω5′ = φ5′ and ω6′ = π − φ6′ , the two
sets of closure equations now become

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φ1′ 1 φ′
tan = tan 3 , (5-19a)
2 cos α 2
φ2′ cos(α + β ) φ′
tan = tan 3 , (5-19b)
2 cos α 2
φ4′ = φ1′ , φ5′ = φ3′ , φ6′ = φ2′ , (5-19c)
and
φ3′ φ3′
tan ( μ sin 2 (α + β ) tan 2 + ( μ + 1)( μ sin 2 β + sin 2 α ))
φ1′ 2 2
tan = ,
2 φ3′
sin(α + β )( μ sin β + cos(α + β ) sin α ) tan 2
2
+ ( μ + 1) 2 sin α sin β cos β
2
(5-20a)
φ2′ μ sin(α + β ) φ′
tan = tan 3 , (5-20b)
2 ( μ + 1) sin α 2
φ3′  φ′ 
 4μ sin α sin 2 (α + β ) tan 2 3 − 4( μ + 1) sin α ( ( μ + 1) sin 2 β − sin 2 (α + β ) ) 
tan
φ′ 2 2 
tan 4 =
2  cos(3α + β ) − 2(1 + μ ) cos(α + β ) 
2
2 φ3′
2( μ + 1) 2 sin 2 α sin 2β +   sin(α + β ) tan
 +(1 + 4μ + 2μ ) cos(α − β )
2
 2
(5-20c)
φ5′ = φ3′ , φ6′ = φ2′ . (5-20d)
So far, two complete sets of closure equations have been obtained. It can be noted
from all closure equations that the motions of the linkages retain the plane symmetry.
Additional compatibility conditions between the vertices A and B need to be added,
which are
φ1′ = ϕ1′ , φ3′ = ϕ2′ . (5-21)
We shall now discuss the respective motion paths provided by two sets of closure
equations.
• The first set of closure equations, Eq. (5-15), at vertex A and the first set of
closure equations, Eq. (5-19) at vertex B

Because Eqs. (5-15a) and (5-19a) are identical, the compatibility between vertex
A and B, Eq. (5-21), is satisfied automatically. Therefore, there is always a smooth
folding path for the thick-panel origami for any μ ≠ 0 , see Fig. 5-9(a-c), in which μ
is randomly selected as 0.5. By comparing Eqs. (5-15) and (5-19) for the thick panel
with Eq. (5-8) for the zero-thickness sheet, we can conclude that the thick-panel origami
and the path I of the original waterbomb origami pattern are kinematically identical, as
demonstrated by the folding sequence of the physical models in Fig. 5-10. The motions
of both structures are line- and plane-symmetric.

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Fig. 5-9 The kinematic paths of thick-panel waterbomb when α = 7π / 36 , β = π / 4 , μ = 0.5 .

Kinematic relationships at vertices (a) A, and (b) B with φ1′ taken as input, where vertex B works
as a plane-symmetric Bricard linkage while vertex A works as a line- and plane-symmetric Bricard
linkage; (c) folding path of the Solidworks model of thick-panel waterbomb.

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Fig. 5-10 Deployable sequences of physical models of the waterbomb pattern with zero-thickness
sheets and thick panels when α = 7π / 36 , β = π / 4 , μ = 0.5 .

Moreover, when α + β = π / 2 , path I becomes a two-stage motion, where φ2′

and φ6′ changing from π to 0 while φ1′ , φ3′ , φ4′ , and φ5′ kept to π , followed by
the process that φ1′ , φ3′ , φ4′ , and φ5′ move as a spatial 4R linkage. This linkage is
actually a Bennett linkage. And it eventually reaches the compact folding position.
However, blockage could be occurred during the motion due to the panel thickness,
which makes the structure cannot be fully folded, see Fig. 5-11, in which μ is
randomly selected as 0.7.
• The first set of closure equations, Eq. (5-15), at vertex A and the second set of
closure equations, Eq. (5-20) at vertex B
Consider Eqs. (5-15a) and (5-20a). Under the compatibility condition given by Eq.
(5-21), there must be
cos (α + β ) sin α
μ= . (5-22a)
sin β

Additionally when α = β , another solution exists, which is

μ =1. (5-22b)

Under the first solution given in Eq. (5-22a), Eq. (5-20) effectively coincides with
Eq. (5-19), and thus there is only one set of closure equations for vertex B. Only one
folding path exists as shown in Fig. 5-12 for the case where α = 7π / 36 , β = π / 4
and μ = 0.14 . Note that this path matches that shown in Fig. 5-9(c) despite that in the
latter, μ is randomly selected as 0.5. The motion behaviour of the thick-panel
waterbomb remains the same as the zero-thickness origami in path I, and thus it is
named as path I for thick panel origami. Moreover, when α + β = π / 2 , μ = 0 from

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Eq. (5-22a). So it will not be considered.

Fig. 5-11 Folding path of thick-panel waterbomb pattern with α = π / 6 , β = π / 3 , μ = 0.7 , in

which the framed configurations are with physical blockage.

Under the second solution given by Eq. (5-22b), μ = 1 , Eq. (5-19) and Eq. (5-20)
are different. In other words, together with Eq. (5-15), there are two sets of closure
equations for the thick-panel origami with μ = 1 that result in two folding paths. The
first, based on Eqs. (5-15) and (5-19), has been discussed earlier. The second, based on
Eqs. (5-15) and (5-20), are actually identical to Eq. (5-9) of the zero-thickness sheet.
This shows that the corresponding folding path is kinematically identical to the path II
of the waterbomb origami pattern of the zero-thickness sheet, and thus it is named as
path II of the thick panel origami. One of such example is shown in Fig. 5-13.

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Fig. 5-12 Folding path of thick-panel waterbomb pattern with α = 7π / 36 , β = π / 4 and

μ = cos (α + β ) ⋅ sin α / sin β = 0.14 .

In thick-panel origami, there is also blockage because of collision of panels during

the folding process. Generally along path I of vertex B, the blockage would appear
when one of the dihedral angles becomes negative. The condition without blockage is
φ2′ > 0 . Considering Eq. (5-19b) leads to α + β < π / 2 , which is the same conclusion
as zero-thickness origami pattern summarized in section 5.3. And to avoid the
interference at vertex A during the folding, 0 < α ≤ π / 4 must be satisfied.
• The second set of closure equations, Eq. (5-16), at vertex A

The other set of closure equations given by Eq. (5-16) at vertex A signify that in
the thick-panel case, there exists a folding path that violates the line symmetry. However,
this path is practically always blocked since ϕ3′ and ϕ2′ , ϕ4′ and ϕ1′ always have
opposite signs as indicated by Eq. (5-16b).
Therefore, the behaviour of the general thick-panel waterbomb can be summarized
as follows.
(a) For any μ ≠ 0 , when α + β < π / 2 , there is only one smooth folding path:
path I.
(b) For any μ ≠ 0 , when α + β = π / 2 , there is one two-stage folding path, path
I, with blockage.
(c) For any μ ≠ 0 , when α + β > π / 2 , there is one blocked folding path.

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Fig. 5-13 Folding sequence for patterns with α = β = 2π / 9 and μ = 1 . (a) Two folding paths
exist; physical models of zero- thickness sheet (top) and thick panels that fold along (b) path I, and
(c) path II.

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(d) For μ = 1 , when α + β < π / 2 , α = β , there are two smooth folding paths,
kinematically equivalent to paths I and II in the zero-thickness origami.
(e) For μ = 1 , when α = β = π / 4 , path I is in two-stage motion and blocked, but
path II can achieve smooth folding.
Here, paths I and II cannot be switch from one to another once the motions are
underway. The choice of folding paths has to be made at the start and end configurations.
The detailed comparison on the kinematic behaviour of the general waterbomb
tessellation of zero-thickness sheets and thick panels for different design parameters is
given in Table 5-1.

Table 5-1 Kinematic behaviour of the general waterbomb tessellation of zero-thickness sheets and
thick panels

geometric folding the waterbomb tessellation the waterbomb tessellation of

conditions paths of zero-thickness sheets thick panels

π α =β path I smooth smooth

α +β <
2 path II smooth exists only when μ = 1 and
the path is smooth
α≠β path I smooth smooth
path II blocked non-existent
π α =β path I two-stage motion two-stage motion and blocked
α +β =
2 path II smooth exists only when μ = 1 and
the path is smooth
α≠β path I two-stage motion two-stage motion and blocked
path II blocked non-existent
π α =β path I blocked blocked
α +β >
2 path II blocked while the path for exists only when μ = 1 but the
vertex B is smooth path is blocked
α≠β path I blocked blocked
path II blocked non-existent

It can be seen from Table 5-1 that there is always a bifurcation behaviour with two
different folding paths for zero-thickness waterbomb origami. However, the bifurcation
can be eliminated in the thick-panel form by properly choosing thickness, as the
thickness provides additional geometric constraints.

5.5 Conclusions and Discussion

In this chapter, the rigid origami of the waterbomb tessellation of both zero-
thickness sheet and thick panels have been analyzed under the symmetric motion
condition. By introducing the plane-symmetric Bricard linkages to replace the spherical
6R linkages in the origami pattern, the thick-panel waterbomb structure has been

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successfully formed. The rigorous enforcement of compatibility conditions ensures the

mobility and flat foldability of the thick panel. It has been proved that the thick-panel
origami and that of the zero-thickness sheet are kinematically equivalent.
Despite the fact that the thick-panel origami is born from an existing origami of
zero-thickness sheet, it has a number of advantages over its parent. First, kinematically
the thick-panel origami structure is a mobile assembly of overconstrained Bricard
linkages with only one DOF, and thus no additional constraints are required to keep its
motion symmetrical. This could be a great benefit for real engineering applications as
its control system could become much more simple and reliable. Second, in general,
the origami of waterbomb tessellation for zero-thickness sheet has kinematic singularity
when it is flat and fully compact. However, for thick-panel origami, the singularity only
appears when a very specific thickness is chosen. A suitable selection of the thickness
of the panels make the latter possible to achieve compact folding without bifurcations.
The unique motion path is certainly much desirable for most practical applications.
The waterbomb tessellation for the thick panels enables the structure to be folded
compactly. The compactness of the package depends on the thickness coefficient and
the number of vertices within the pattern. The pattern can be divided into strips formed
by vertices A in the horizontal direction. Consider a pattern consisting of m strips,
each with n vertices A as shown in Fig. 5-1. In the completely packaged configuration,
the dimension in the vertical direction will be ( m + 1) / 2 of the height of the larger
triangles in the vertex A and the cross-section dimensions are the width of the larger
triangles in the vertex A and the overall thickness as 2n(2 + 2μ )a′ , where n is the
number of vertices A in the strip and μ ≤ 1 . μ > 1 is not recommended because it
results in panels with considerable thickness and in turn, the overall thickness of the
package when the panels are packaged. So the ratio between the area of a fully expanded
shape and that of completely folded is about 4n . This indicates that the concept is very
suitable to fold a structure in a long rectangular shape. On the other hand, to meet the
geometric conditions of the spatial linkages, each panel within the pattern could not be
of the same thickness. As a result, the overall structure in the fully deployed
configuration is flat but not absolutely even. However, for this waterbomb pattern, we
have manage to make sure that one side of the expanded surface is completely flat,
which enables the waterbomb origami pattern to be directly applicable to fold thick-
panel structures such as solar panels and space mirrors.

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